Dr. Claudia Koch

Curator of Herpetology Section
Radiation Protection Officer
Micro-CT Management

Herpetology

Tel: +49 228 9122-234

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

Mail: c.koch [at] leibniz-zfmk.de

Tabs

Profile

Research interests

Systematics, taxonomy, biogeography, phylogeny, ecology and conservation of reptiles and amphibians, with a special focus on Neotropical species.

Memberships

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde, Societas Europaea Herpetologica, Alexander Koenig Gesellschaft, Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik, Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation

Awards

Biodiversitätspreis der Mainzer Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur, Chimaira-Wissenschaftspreis

Projects

2018

Phylogeny of bothropoid vipers

Bothropoids are a highly diverse group of pitvipers whose phylogeny is not yet sufficiently clear given the uncertain, unclear or conflicting position of many species. Our goal is to assess the contribution of new data and an increased taxon sampling for the outgroup on clarifying the phylogeny of bothropoids. New data includes new morphological and molecular characters, additional data of poorly known species, data of species described recently, and data of putative new species.

Unit:

Herpetology

Project lead:

Dr. Claudia Koch

Systematics of blindsnakes

Although blindsnakes include many superlatives, such as the world’s smallest and most widespread living snake species they have largely been neglected in vertebrate research. Nonetheless, they tell a very interesting evolutionary story and – being of Gondwana origin - their relationships track place tectonics better than those of any other vertebrate group.With the help of micro-computer-tomography (µCT) and geometric morphometric analyses we aim to understand the evolution of several morphological characters (e.g. skull, cervical vertebrae, pelvic girdle).

Unit:

Herpetology

Project lead:

Dr. Claudia Koch

Herpetodiversity Andean valleys

Andean dry forests are among the least investigated biotopes worldwide. The project involves a herpetological inventory and an exemplary phylogeographic analysis on the basis of selected groups.

Unit:

Herpetology

Project lead:

Dr. Claudia Koch

Funding:

Alexander Koenig Stiftung, Alexander-Koenig-Society e.V., German Academic Exchange Service

2017

Diversity of Neotropical Bush Anoles

Recently we discovered and described a new species of the lizard genus Polychrus, commonly known as bush anoles or Neotropical false chameleons (Koch et al. 2011), augmenting the number of recognized species in this genus to seven. This project will explore the diversity and evolutionary history of Neotropical false chameleons using DNA sequence data.

Unit:

Herpetology

Project lead:

Dr. Claudia Koch

Funding:

Alexander-Koenig-Society e.V., Biopat - Patrons for Biodiversity

2008

Herpetofauna of Peruvian Dry Forests (2008-2014)

The present study was organized to contribute to the knowledge of the herpetofauna of the Inter-Andean dry forest valleys and provides a first checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of the interandean part of the equatorial dry forest in Northern Peru.

Unit:

Herpetology

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Böhme

Funding:

Alexander Koenig Stiftung, Alexander-Koenig-Society e.V., German Academic Exchange Service, Kirschner & Seufer Publisher

Publications

Published in

2019

Beuttner, A., Koch, C. (2019): Analysis of diet composition and morphological characters of the little-known Peruvian bush anole Polychrus peruvianus (Noble, 1924) in a northern Peruvian dry forest. - Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(1) [General Section]: 111–121 (e172).

[more]

Documents:

2019_beuttnerkoch_arc_journal.pdf

Beuttner, A., Koch, C. (2019): Analysis of diet composition and morphological characters of the Peruvian lizard Microlophus stolzmanni (Squamata: Tropiduridae). - Phyllomedusa 18(1):47–62; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v18i1p47-62

[more]

Documents:

2019_beuttnerkoch_phyllomedusa_journal.pdf

Carrasco, P. A., Grazziotin, F. G., Santa Cruz Farfán, R., Koch, C., Ochoa, J. A., Scrocchi, G. J., Leynaud, G. C., et al. (2019): A new species of Bothrops (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) from Pampas del Heath, southeastern Peru, with comments on the systematics of the Bothrops neuwiedi species group. - Zootaxa 4565 (3): 301–344; https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4565.3.1

[more]

Dufresnes, C., Mazepa, G., Jablonski, D., Caliari Oliveira, R., Wenseleers, T., Shabanov, D. A., Auer, M., ... , Koch, C., et al. (2019): Fifteen shades of green: The evolution of Bufotes toads revisited. - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 141: 106615.; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106615

[more]

Documents:

suppl._dufresnes_c._et_al._2019.pdf

Jiménez-Bolaño, J. D., Montes-Correa, A. C., Polo-Córdoba, F., Linares-Vargas, K., Vergara-Gil, D., Barrio-Amorós, C. L., Koch, C. (2019): Acoustic repertory of the “Colostethus” ruthveni group (Anura: Dendrobatidae) and comments on the distribution in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. - Salamandra 55(1): 27–38.

[more]

Documents:

2019_jimenez-bolano_et_al_salamandra.pdf

Koch, C., Martins, A., Schweiger, S. (2019): A century of waiting: description of a new Epictia Gray, 1845 (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) based on specimens housed for more than 100 years in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NMW). - PeerJ 7:e7411 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7411

[more]

Documents:

2019_koch_etal_epictia_rioignis.pdf

Martins, A., Koch, C., Pinto, R., Folly, M., Fouquet, A., Passos, P. (2019): From the inside out: Discovery of a new genus of threadsnakes based on anatomical and molecular data, with discussion of the leptotyphlopid hemipenial morphology. - Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 57: 840 - 863; https ://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12316

[more]

Reyes-Puig, J. P., Reyes-Puig, C., Ron, S., Ortega, J. A., Guayasamin, J. M., Goodrum, M., Recalde, F., ... , Koch, C., et al. (2019): A new species of terrestrial frog of the genus Noblella Barbour, 1930 (Amphibia: Strabomantidae) from the Llanganates-Sangay Ecological Corridor, Tungurahua, Ecuador. - PeerJ 7:e7405; doi: 10.7717/peerj.7405

[more]

Documents:

2019_reyes-puig_etal_noblella.pdf

Torres-Carvajal, O., Koch, C., Valencia, J. H., Venegas, P. J., Echevarría, L. Y. (2019): Morphology and distribution of the South American snake Chironius leucometapus (Serpentes: Colubridae). - Phyllomedusa 18(2):241–254; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v18i2p241-254

[more]

2018

Astrin, J., Heine, S., Koch, C., Rödder, D., Töpfer, T., Wägele, W. (2018): Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn: Transformation of a Classical Natural History Museum of the Nineteenth Century into a Biodiversity Research Institution. - In: Beck, L. A. (ed.): Zoological Collections of Germany. - Springer (Cham), pp. 153-182.

[more]

Koch, C., Venegas, P.J., Santa Cruz, R., Böhme, W. (2018): Annotated checklist and key to the species of amphibians and reptiles inhabiting the northern Peruvian dry forest along the Andean valley of the Marañon River and its tributaries. – Zootaxa 4385 (1): 001-101; https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4385.1.1

[more]

2017

Koch, C. (2017): Phyllodactylus delsolari. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T48442737A48442740. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T48442737A48442740.en.

[more]

Koch, C. (2017): Herping Down Under – Eine Auszeit in Westaustralien. - Terraria/Elaphe 66: 60-63.

[more]

Torres-Carvajal, O., Koch, C., Venegas, P. J., Poe, S. (2017): Phylogeny and diversity of neotropical monkey lizards (Iguanidae: Polychrus Cuvier, 1817). - PLoS ONE 12(6): e0178139. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178139

[more]

Documents:

2017_torres-carvajal_etal_polychrus.pdf

Woodman, N., Koch, C., Hutterer, R. (2017): Rediscovery of the type series of the Sacred Shrew, Sorex religiosus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826, with additional notes on mummified shrews of ancient Egypt (Mammalia: Soricidae). - Zootaxa 4341 (1): 001–024; https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4341.1.1

[more]

2016

Koch, C., Flecks, M., Venegas, P.J., Bialke, P., Valverde, S., Rödder, D. (2016): Applying n-dimensional hypervolumes for species delimitation: unexpected molecular, morphological, and ecological diversity in the Leaf-Toed Gecko Phyllodactylus reissii Peters, 1862 (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) from northern Peru. - Zootaxa 4161(1): 41-80; http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4161.1.2

[more]

Koch, C., Santa Cruz, R., Cárdenas, H. (2016): Two new endemic species of Epictia Gray, 1845 (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) from Northern Peru. - Zootaxa 4150 (2): 101–122; http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4150.2.1

[more]

Koch, C., Venegas, P. J. (2016): A large and unusually colored new snake species of the genus Tantilla (Squamata; Colubridae) from the Peruvian Andes. - PeerJ 4:e2767; doi 10.7717/peerj.2767

[more]

Documents:

2016_kochvenegas_tantilla.pdf

Venegas, P. J., Echevarría, L. Y. , García-Burneo, K., Koch, C. (2016): A new species of iguanid lizard, genus Stenocercus (Squamata, Iguania), from the Central Andes in Peru. - Zootaxa 4205 (1): 52–64; doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4205.1.4

[more]

Documents:

2016_venegas_etal_stenocercus.pdf

2015

Aurich, J., Koch, C., Böhme, W. (2015): Reproduction in a gecko assemblage (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) in the Marañon Region (Peru) and comments on the largest gecko in the New World. - Phyllomedusa 14(1): 53–62.

[more]

Documents:

aurich_et_al._2015._phyllomedusa_141_53-62.pdf

Pages

Presentations

Talks

November 2015: DGHT, Bonn
Subject: „Die Herpetofauna Westaustraliens“ (The herpetofauna of Western Australia)

November 2015: Biologische Gesellschaft Bonn
Subject:“Auf Entdeckerpfaden in Peru“ (On explorer paths in Peru)

March 2015: DGHT, Bad Dürkheim
Subject: “Auf Entdeckerpfaden in Peru“ (On explorer paths in Peru)

December 2014: Latinamerican Congress of Herpetology, Cartagena, Colombia
Subject: “Unique and endangered: The Herpetofauna of the Peruvian dry forest along the Andean valley of Río Marañón and its tributaries” (presented in Spanish)

October 2014: DGHT annual meeting, Bonn
Subject: „Einzigartig und bedroht: Die Herpetofauna andiner Trockenwaldtäler im Norden Perus“ (Unique and endangered: The herpetofauna of Andean dry forest valleys in Northern Peru)

May 2014: AKG, Bonn
Subject: "Auf Entdeckerpfaden in Peru" (On explorer paths in Peru)

Since 06/2014 Curator of Herpetology at the Alexander Koenig Research Museum, Bonn, Germany (ZFMK).

02/2014 Dissertation Defense at the Alexander Koenig Research Museum, Bonn, Germany. (Mark "magna cum laude", Advisor: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Böhme)

04/2008-02/2014 Dissertation at the Alexander Koenig Research Museum, Bonn, Germany. Subject of the Doctoral thesis: „The Herpetofauna of the Peruvian dry forest along the Andean valley of the Marañón River and its tributaries, with a focus on endemic iguanians, geckos and tegus (Squamata: Iguanidae, Phyllodactylidae, Teiidae).”

03/2006 Granting of a Diploma in Biology (Mark: „very good", Advisor: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Böhme)

06/2005-03/2006 Diploma Thesis at the Alexander Koenig Research Museum, Bonn, Germany. Subject: „The amphibians and reptiles of the Tumbesian dry forest region of Northern Peru.”

10/2000- 03/2006 Studies of Biology at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität, Bonn, Germany. Major subjects: Zoology, Palaeontology, Geography

05/2000 Gymnasium am Ölberg, Königswinter-Oberpleis (University-entrance diploma)

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Dr. Claudia Koch

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Research interests

Memberships

Awards

2018

2017

2008

Pages

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Pages

Talks

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